People in some parts of the U.S.A. public avow they 'bust their butts' as a kind of self-attestation they have worked with vigor, unsurpassably, until exhaustion, etc. I have never liked the phrase because it's inaccurate. Got it done is a more humble approach. Worked diligently or even worked hard are preferable phrases. We broke a sweat has at least some literal correspondence.
So I considered the etymology a little. Obviously one does not claim to have 'busted our fingers' or 'busted my toes' for those kinds of industrial accidents actually happen. One might say if a coal miner that we 'busted our lungs' or if a secretarial aspirant to make graduate school a female union say that we 'busted our wrists' (with carpal tunnel). Bust sutures, bust ankles, bust rotator cuff tendons, bust lower ab with hernia, bust skull, bust teeth, we got blisters, we broke a sweat, etc.
The slang dictionary has redefined the term to mean that if one says 'we bust our asses' or 'we bust our butts' that one sat all day.
If one was a pro wrestler busting one's butt could mean having a broken coccyx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alZjxh8Z3Jk bust butt one style
http://www.accesshollywood.com/articles/khloe-kardashian-slams-lipo-rumors-i-bust-my-ass-at-the-gym-161838/ bust butt in exercise yet also meaning busting butt size down with exercise
So I considered the etymology a little. Obviously one does not claim to have 'busted our fingers' or 'busted my toes' for those kinds of industrial accidents actually happen. One might say if a coal miner that we 'busted our lungs' or if a secretarial aspirant to make graduate school a female union say that we 'busted our wrists' (with carpal tunnel). Bust sutures, bust ankles, bust rotator cuff tendons, bust lower ab with hernia, bust skull, bust teeth, we got blisters, we broke a sweat, etc.
The slang dictionary has redefined the term to mean that if one says 'we bust our asses' or 'we bust our butts' that one sat all day.
If one was a pro wrestler busting one's butt could mean having a broken coccyx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alZjxh8Z3Jk bust butt one style
http://www.accesshollywood.com/articles/khloe-kardashian-slams-lipo-rumors-i-bust-my-ass-at-the-gym-161838/ bust butt in exercise yet also meaning busting butt size down with exercise
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